The Aldi marquee is back for another year at the National Ploughing Championships

Aldi Teams-up with 35 of its Irish suppliers & welcomes winners of Grow with Aldi!

Reporter:

Offaly Express Reporter

15 Sept 2018

Email:

news@offalyexpress.ie

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The National Ploughing Championships take place next week in Screggan,Tullamore,Co.Offaly

The Aldi marquee is back at the National Ploughing Championships with a jam-packed line up throughout the three-day festival which takes place in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly from 18th – 20th September.

Entertainment will once again be provided by hugely popular Irish country music star Mike Denver, celebrity cooking demonstrations and 35 of Aldi’s Irish suppliers will be showcasing the very best of Aldi’s multi-award-winning range of Irish sourced food and drink.

Visitors are especially encouraged to get to the marquee during Mike’s daily set on stage, to be in with a chance of once again getting their hands on a complimentary Stetson hat.

Day 1 (18th Sept): Virgin Media One’s Ireland AM hosted by Alan Hughes will come live from the Aldi marquee from early in the morning. The five winners of the ‘Grow with Aldi’ supplier development programme will be announced, Mike Denver and his band will take to the stage throughout the day, and chef Mick Quinn will be cooking up a storm in the demo kitchen from the stage. He will be joined by Irish goalkeeping legend Packie Bonner and singer Jake Carter in a celebrity cook off at midday. The first semi-final of both the National Brown Bread Baking Competition and the National Junior Baking Competition will take place in the Baking Area.

Day 2 (19th Sept): Virgin Media One’s The Elaine Show will come live from the Aldi marquee and Munster and Irish rugby hero Paul O Connell who is the Aldi Play Rugby Ambassador will also be in attendance. Again, cookery demos, the second semi-final of both the National Brown Bread Baking Competition and the National Junior Baking Competition will take place and Mike Denver will be on stage throughout the day. Chef Mick Quinn will oversee a cook off between Paul O’Connell and Aldi Community Games supporter and Dublin GAA player James McCarthy. Foróige, one of Aldi’s charity partners will be also be on site, and young Foróige members will be encouraged to use their skills and talents as they take part in an Aldi mentoring programme. The Aldi mentoring programme has been designed to give Foróige members an insight into the business of Aldi, and they will spend the day shadowing various members of the Aldi team and engaging in key roles.

Day 3 (20th Sept): The final day is all about crowning our two baking champions – the winning brown bread that will hit the shelves of all 133 Aldi stores in early December, as will the Lemon Drizzle cake, the competition of which is in association with Foróige. The 6 O’Clock Show will be filming the finals showcasing the very best brown breads and lemon drizzle cakes!

Aldi will once again sponsor The National Brown Bread Baking Competition, in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA). Day 1 will also see the Foróige Junior Baking Competition also sponsored by Aldi kick off in the marquee. Both competitions will run for the three days with the overall winners announced on Thursday.

What else will be going on?

Broadcast beauty and Aldi’s Mamia Brand Ambassador Síle Seoige will also be on hand to MC the Aldi Marquee throughout the three days, as well as hosting the National Brown Bread and National Junior Baking competitions.

Aldi will be joined by 35 of its Irish suppliers in its marquee, who will be taking part in live on stage cooking demonstrations and providing samples of Aldi’s premium Irish product range.

The Mamia Baby Area is back, bigger and better, having proven so popular last year. Aldi’s Beauty Ambassador, Sinead Kavanagh aka The Beautiful Truth will be on site on Day 1 to give her top tips for glowing skin!

Face-painting and balloon making will also be taking place for the three days so make sure to bring the kids along too!Aldi’s Swap & Save campaign - take part in our survey at the marquee to be in with a chance to win Aldi shopping vouchers.

“We’re delighted to be back as one of the main sponsors of this year’s National Ploughing Championships and are looking forward to welcoming visitors to our marquee,” said John Curtin, Group Buying Director at Aldi Ireland.

“Once again, the Aldi Marquee will be the destination of choice, with a huge array of entertainment planned, from cookery demos, to live music, to baking finals and face painting.”

“We will be joined by the winners of our GROW with Aldi initiative, as well as 35 of our Irish suppliers who produce the premium quality Irish products found on the shelves of our 133 stores nationwide. Supporting the Irish food and drink sector is of huge importance to Aldi and we are delighted to present some of our best Irish fare to visitors.”

“Visitors will also get the chance to learn about the progress of the many national and local community projects Aldi has supported in Ireland, including the Foróige Youth Citizenship Awards, Aldi Play Rugby, Aldi Community Games and our partnership with FoodCloud.”

“As we are at the home of Ploughing in Ireland, we at Aldi would like to congratulate Eamonn Tracey from Carlow who won first place in the conventional class at the World Ploughing Contest in Germany recently. We would also like to congratulate Liam O’Driscoll from Cork, who came first in his category at the European Ploughing Contest in Russia back in June.”

NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said, “We are delighted to be partnered with Aldi and the ICA once again this year, given the popularity and success of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition at Ploughing.

"With record crowds of 291,500 visitors in attendance last year and the site in Screggan proving to be a phenomenal success, signals would suggest another “great ploughing” is on the way.

"The Championships not only provides a national stage for showcasing all things agricultural, but also brings together people from all sectors of Irish society both rural and urban, to enjoy three days immersed in country living.”

Packed with fun, food, sports and Stetsons, the Aldi marquee is set to be one of the highlights at the National Ploughing Championships so make sure to stop by!

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